Morning Meeting: Preparing For Floodwater

In a matter of days, the concerns over flooding along the Missouri River at Pierre and Fort Pierre have extended down river to Yankton and Dakota Dunes. The National Guard is active, volunteers are filling thousands of sandbags and they’re building levees along the banks in Pierre. Preparing for the disaster has multiplied several times over and the call for help is being answered.

KELOLAND News has crews up and down the river to bring you the latest throughout the day and what will likely become a matter of weeks.

We know many of you have questions about how the snowmelt elsewhere became a problem in South Dakota. We expect to talk with the Army Corps of Engineers to get some of those answers today.

In Fort Pierre, people are still packing up their homes and moving out. Around 3,000 people are expected to be impacted by water on both sides of the river there. We’ll talk with people who are doing what they can as fast as they can.

The race is on to protect businesses in both communities, but one business owner in Pierre also needs to protect her home. We’ll show you how they’re doing double the work to protect their livelihood and where they live.

Farther down the river In Yankton, we’re talking with the Emergency Manager about the situation, what they expect and how they’re preparing for it. We’ll also hear from homeowners who are taking action to protect their belongings and volunteers who are there to help.

And as people Dakota Dunes work to evacuate by Thursday, the state is bringing in a Black Hawk helicopter to move large sandbags to protect homes.

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